Do you not see how God sends down water from the sky, which penetrates the earth and gathers in springs beneath? With it He brings forth plants of various colours. They wither, they turn yellow, and then He turns them to chaff. Surely in this there is an admonition for men of understanding.

He whose heart God has opened to Islam shall receive light from his Lord. But woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of God! Truly, they are in the grossest error (39:21-22).

The breathtakingly astonishing system of rains on earth, then the growth of vegetation from it, then the bringing forth of crops—all these material happenings have innumerable lessons to teach. But only those who are capable of going deeper into the subject will learn anything from them.

God has planned the external world in such a fashion that everything in it serves as a sign of the Higher Reality. Man has, moreover, been endowed with such capabilities as help him to read those signs and understand them. Now those who keep their natural faculties alive and, by availing of them, ponder over the things of the world, will unlock the doors of realization within themselves. While those who allow the intellect to become sluggish will be unable to learn lessons from anything. They will see, but this will not be the seeing of realization; they will hear, but this will not be the hearing of realization.

In this present world everything that begins is heading towards its pre-destined end. For instance, a seed, once sprouted, starts its life as a tiny plant then gradually develops into a sapling, then into a fully-grown tree. The same is true of the things of this world.

This happening serves as a divine lesson for man. In this way God tells man that he is also heading from beginning to end: childhood followed by youth and old age. Afterwards death will lead us to a new and eternal existence.

The Prophet Muhammad PBUH likened death to sleep and life to the state of wakefulness after sleep. When he awakened in the morning, he would say: “All praise and thanks are due to God who gave us life after death.”

For the rest of mankind, waking and sleeping are likewise symbolic of life and death. Going to sleep is like dying and waking up in the morning is like rising from the grave. Our inevitable awakening after sleeping foreshadows with certainty how we shall arise after death to give an account of our deeds on the Day of Judgment.

Man has to pass his life in this world in such a way that every happening becomes for him a reminder of the Day of Judgment. His sleeping and rising should also serve as reminders of life after death.

The most delicate aspect of man’s life is that his existence does not come to an end after death. He has to be reborn in another world. The present world is the world of action, while the world to come will be one in which he reaps his reward. That will be the beginning of a new and eternal life—either eternal heaven or eternal hell.

When man has discovered the greatness of God, his own-existence in comparison appears quite insignificant. This feeling makes him into a truly modest person. His whole being is coloured in the hue of servitude. His manner ceases to be aggressive and his voice becomes gentle. Even his gait expresses his modesty. His whole attitude comes to reflect a new seriousness.

All this inevitably results in his preferring simplicity in everything, in food, drink, living arrangements, and so on. He avoids luxuries, pomp and show. His soul finds pleasure and contentment in leading a life of simplicity instead of indulgence.

True faith leads man away from artificial things to nature, where simplicity is the rule. He develops a liking for a simple way of life, which is more natural. This naturalness behoves the believer. Naturalness is in accordance with his modesty and humility, themselves great virtues in the eyes of God.

The Prophet Muhammad PBUH used to lead a very simple life and laid great stress on believers doing likewise. Once he said, “O people, don’t you hear me, O people, don’t you hear me, O people, don’t you hear me, ‘Simplicity is undoubtedly a part of faith.’ ‘Simplicity is undoubtedly a part of faith.’